ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) – Baker Mayfield threw four touchdown passes and No. 2 Oklahoma staked claim to a playoff spot with a 41-17 victory over No. 10 TCU on Saturday in the return of the Big 12 championship game.
With their record 11th Big 12 title, the Sooners (12-1, No. 3 CFP) are a lock to get in the College Football Playoff for the second time in three seasons. They are the only Big 12 team to make the four-team playoff format that started in 2014.
Oklahoma jumped out to a 17-0 lead, including Caleb Kelly’s 18-yard fumble return for a touchdown after running back Kyle Hicks’ turnover on the first offensive play by TCU (10-3, No. 11).
Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) and wide receiver Marquise Brown (5) celebrate hooking up for a long pass and touchdown score in the second half of the Big 12 Conference championship NCAA college football game against TCU on Saturday, Dec. 2, 2017, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Kenny Hill threw two TD passes to get the Horned Frogs to 24-17 at halftime, but Oklahoma scored twice on its first three offensive plays after the break.
Mayfield, the front-runner for the Heisman Trophy to be named next week, was 15 of 23 for 243 yards to take game MVP honors. The first two touchdown passes were to tight end Mark Andrews.
Hill opened the second half with three consecutive incompletions. On the first play after the punt, Mayfield hit Mykel Jones for a 55-yard catch-and-run score.
On fourth-and-1 from the Oklahoma 41 on the next drive, Hill bootlegged to the right side. Big defensive end Ogbonnia Okoronkwo chased him toward the sideline before Parnell Motley delivered the crushing blow that kept TCU’s quarterback from getting a first down. Two plays later, Marquise Brown made an over-the-shoulder grab for a 52-yard TD strike and a 38-17 lead.
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
NO. 12 UCF 62, NO. 16 MEMPHIS 55, 2 OT
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) – Otis Anderson scored on a 1-yard run on the first possession of the second overtime and Central Florida – in what turned out to be its last game under coach Scott Frost – beat Memphis for its third AAC crown in five years.
Frost, the second-year coach and former Nebraska quarterback, took the Cornhuskers’ job after the game.
Memphis (10-2, CFP No. 20) got as far as the UCF 9 in the second OT, but Riley Ferguson’s pass on second-and-goal was intercepted by Tre Neal, giving the Knights (12-0, CFP No. 15) a likely spot in a New Year’s Six bowl.
The top two scoring teams in the country combined for 117 points and 1,479 yards. It was tied at 48 at the end of regulation.
The Knights led 48-34 early in the fourth quarter but the Tigers rallied to tie with 4:13 remaining on Ferguson’s 10-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Miller. Memphis had a chance to win it in regulation but Riley Patterson’s 51-yard field-goal attempt with 28 seconds remaining was wide left.
UCF’s McKenzie Milton was 28 of 40 for 494 yards and five touchdowns. He was selected the game’s most outstanding player.
CONFERENCE USA
FLORIDA ATLANTIC 41, NORTH TEXAS 17
BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) – Devin Singletary ran for 164 yards and three touchdowns and Florida Atlantic beat North Texas to win its first Conference USA championship in coach Lane Kiffin’s first season.
The Owls (10-3) extended their unbeaten streak to nine games and were undefeated against C-USA opponents this season. Jason Driskel completed 15 of 27 passes for 269 yards and a touchdown, and Kalib Woods had a school-record 208 yards receiving yards. FAU had 633 yards of offense.
The Owls, who beat North Texas (9-4) 69-31 in the regular season, took a 34-0 lead in the first 33 minutes. FAU had gains of 47, 49, 22, 44, 21 and 34 yards in the first quarter alone.
MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE
TOLEDO 45, AKRON 28
DETROIT (AP) – Logan Woodside threw four touchdown passes, Terry Swanson ran for 180 yards and two scores and Toledo beat Akron in the Mid-American Conference championship game at Ford Field.
Receivers Diontae Johnson (118 yards) and Jon’Vea Johnson (103) combined for 221 yards and three touchdowns for Toledo (11-2). The Rockets won their third conference title game and first since 2004.
Akron (7-6) forced five turnovers but couldn’t overcome a lopsided first half in it second loss to Toledo (11-2) this season. Woodside threw three touchdown passes in the first half, two to Diontae Johnson, as help the Rockets take a 28-0 lead.
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